Jen. Saucedo et al., FACTORS AFFECTING DENSITIES, DISTRIBUTION AND GROWTH-PATTERNS OF CELLS INSIDE IMMOBILIZATION SUPPORTS, FEMS microbiology reviews, 14(1), 1994, pp. 93-98
Immobilized cells can adopt different densities, distributions and gro
wth patterns inside polysaccharide gel beads. These arrangements are c
losely related to both the morphological characteristics of a given ce
ll strain and the internal structure of the gel bead. We have encounte
red different kinds of structural inhomogeneities (e.g. superficial cr
usts, radial shafts and microchannels, discrete cavities, concentric o
rdered gel block layers, amorphous gel blocks, random fractures, etc.)
in polysaccharide gel beads while working under different experimenta
l conditions. These supramacromolecular structures are important facto
rs to take into account for the development of microorganisms inside t
he gel matrix and for the utilization of immobilized cells as biocatal
ysts.